---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING EMPLOYEES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
description: "TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING EMPLOYEES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 491"
citation: "Arkansas SB 491 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["B. Davis", "Wooten"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 20
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-03-27T19:53:55+00:00"
last_action: "2023-04-12T13:31:17+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5cdc7ff7-bf50-421d-b320-e74c0af86c1d"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "70dec2b663618e5a2b80ad76426f4943d30b9399fcd5912fa41710d42604646d"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ar"]
---

# Arkansas SB 491 (2023) — TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING EMPLOYEES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Act 778** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2F&file=778.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2023R)
2. **SB 491** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2023/2023R/Bills/SB491.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed. — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **97–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- B. Davis — primary (person)
- Wooten — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-03-27T19:53:55+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2023-03-27T20:32:52+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2023-03-28T19:04:37+00:00** Withdrawn from Committee and placed on calendar.
- **2023-03-28T19:04:44+00:00** Re-referred to JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE `referral-committee`
- **2023-04-04T18:02:36+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-04-05T18:47:23+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-05T18:47:39+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2023-04-05T18:47:44+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2023-04-05T21:40:14+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2023-04-05T23:19:36+00:00** Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and placed on the CALENDAR. `reading-1, reading-2`
- **2023-04-06T17:10:31+00:00** RULES SUSPENDED
- **2023-04-06T17:10:32+00:00** Considered in the Committee of the Whole, and recommended do pass.
- **2023-04-06T17:10:33+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-06T17:10:34+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2023-04-06T17:10:35+00:00** Returned To Senate as Passed.
- **2023-04-06T23:19:19+00:00** Returned from the House as passed.
- **2023-04-06T23:19:21+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2023-04-07T19:32:30+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2023-04-07T19:32:32+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-12T13:31:17+00:00** Notification that SB491 is now Act 778 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/5cdc7ff7-bf50-421d-b320-e74c0af86c1d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).